Proverbs Study – Lesson 3
READ Prov. 3:1-4 The instruction begins. Solomon begins to tell us how to apply wisdom in a practical way and what benefits it will have in our life. He tells those that are young to not forget his laws and his commandments. The implication here is that those who were young and beginning to become men, and women, were instructed in wisdom as they grew up. In our first study we talked about the reality that not everyone grows up with parents that instruct them. Many grow up with little to no instruction at all. But, the Jewish culture believed in a lifestyle of instruction and teaching of the young in the preparation for life ahead. They were commanded to instruct their children in life and spiritual matters. (READ Ex. 4:15 Deut. 4:10, 6:5-12 and 11:19) They did not leave it to chance, or to others first. Others had a part. The Jewish community was a part of their training. And, the rabbi and synagogue also had its part. But, the ultimate responsibility for the training of their children was the parents.
In this passage, however, Solomon is giving instruction to those who have already been taught wisdom not to forsake it, hanging on to it and guarding it as if their life depended on it. And, it does! Nations rise and fall by the application of or the lack of wisdom. Our life is no different. For as Solomon knew so well, in Wisdom is Life. V. 2 says that wise living has practical benefits to our life. Tangible benefits like length of days, long life and peace are realized by application of good instruction.
Solomon should have read this passage when he departed from wisdom for a season later in his life. It is so interesting that as many get older they begin to live a life like the rules have changed. Like the rules do not matter anymore. Wisdom, however, is life for all of life. All ages benefit from the application of wisdom in their life. Solomon sums it up for us in Ecclesiastes 12:13-4 after his return to God,” Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” I Jn. 2:12-4 (READ) reminds us that the application of Biblical wisdom is beneficial at all stages of life and not just for the young.
Prov. 3:3-4 (READ) tells us that the application of mercy and truth in our life will influence others, including God, to respect and appreciate us more. V. 4 uses the words favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man as benefits of having these attributes in our life. We get a reputation, good or bad, by how we live. We are either known and respected for wisdom and honest living or we are known for being rude, impolite, dishonest, selfish or self centered.
Notice the two words chosen here, mercy and truth. Mercy is such a powerful action. To be known for mercy spreads to the ears of others like wildfire. To actually have the reputation of mercy opens doors before you as you proceed through life that you will never believe. Doors in life that you could never muscle open by your own power are often wide open even before you get there when you are known for your acts of mercy. Even your enemies will stop and help you in your time of need, whether it be for a need that you have or someone else’s need that you are involved in.
Honesty is also much like mercy in that it clears away obstacles that get in the way of a transaction or request. A very large part of an encounter or a transaction is cutting through the red tape of trust. When trust is part of who you are known to be your word is good enough. Many Transactions that are essentially good are passed by and not completed because there was a lack of trust in what is being said or what’s being offered. Also, it is good to remember when it comes to buying or purchasing an item the buyer will always seek out the one with the honest reputation.
READ Prov. 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, Life is confusing. So often we really don’t know what to do. It is confusing even when we need basic wisdom for average days. We hate to admit it, but we do a lot of guessing when making decisions. Even on basic decisions. We give the impression of being confident and sure, but inside we know that we are guessing. And, often with no clue as to really what to do and if what we propose is going to have any benefit at all.
Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us some guidance. It tells us that there is Someone who we can trust in making decisions,… and it says that it is not our self. Prov. 3:5 tells us that we should not lean on our own wisdom as if it was going to hold us up or support the weight of our full trust that is needed in making good decisions in life . Heb. 4:12 (READ) tells us that the word of God is better at discerning our thoughts and intents in our heart. Our heart can fool us. We can often be found to be confident in something that we perceive to be absolutely true only to find out that we were way off, not even close to the right answer or decision.
That is not to say that we always get it wrong. It is just that we need God’s input into our life. We trust in ourselves, we need to trust in God more. Trusting in God we begin to learn His ways. We begin to apply His principles. David saw benefit in trusting God and asking Him first before he acted. So did Solomon. Their confidence and assurance in making the right life decisions grew because of their dependence upon God. James puts it this way in James 1:5-8 (READ), If we lack wisdom ask God. He gives wisdom when asked without holding back. We often approach life double minded. Because of their double mindedness they get much less out of life. James says that double minded people are unstable in all areas of life and can be easily influenced. Those who have found God’s guidance and advise to be accurate and rely on it in their decision making are not double minded but are confident in the decision making process for what lies ahead of them. MANY over the centuries have found GREAT comfort and wisdom in applying Prov. 3:5-6. God is HAPPY to join us and guide us when asked. Solomon is advising that we trust in the Lord with our whole heart as a lifestyle and habit.
This chapter is chuck full of practical life application advice. Prov. 3:9-10 admonishes us to give away so that we will have more. Many of us have a problem with this thought. However, the Bible clearly makes the point that the Lord blesses those who have the heart of generosity. He is not saying that we should give with the motive of getting more. But, the reality is that God blesses those who are generous.
V. 10 seems to clearly put the carrot out in front of us encouraging us to give this a try. We are taught in every area of life to be prudent, making sure that we don’t fritter away what we have earned into nothingness. It is God’s provision for our life.
However, we can get so self absolved in our needs and wants that when it is all said and done and we have divided up what we have been given that there is not only nothing left to give, but all too often we find that there is not even enough to care for our current needs. This is why Solomon makes the point of giving out of the first fruits. He was wise enough to know that by giving out of the first fruits to others we not only see the use of the rest of what we have and how to use it differently, but he also saw God’s hand of blessing, multiplying what he originally had. Solomon had no problem making the point that material blessing is part of God’s blessing to those with a generous heart. This principle is found in other passages such as Luke 6:38 (READ). Again, giving to get is not the principle. But let’s not forget the promise that is stated, especially if it prompts us to be more generous.
Prov. 3:11-2 All of life on the right path with God is not all fun and games. Because of our fallen nature and a fallen world many of life’s lessons are best learned through difficult circumstances. Solomon here is telling us not to talk back to God with our actions when He is trying to teach us something. But instead, he is telling us to listen to the wisdom of God in the method that He has chosen to use. His purpose is not to harm us, but to help us, and He gets no pleasure in our pain. However, in His wisdom, He knows how to perfect us. His love for us is like that of the perfect father, if there ever was one. God, the PERFECT Father, has a purpose in the process and has in mind the end result. Read Heb. 12:5-11 Let us respect Him and His wisdom.
V. 13-9 Solomon revisit the benefits of wisdom. It is interesting that just after giving us incentive to give, citing God’s blessing to the generous, that he makes a point that there are more valuable things than money and, he uses, jewels and treasures as examples of the currency of his day. In these verses he again esteems wisdom as “the highest commodity”, worth more than anything! In v. 19 he makes the point that it was wisdom that was used to make the earth a reality. (Stop and think about it for a minute.) And, by understanding, the Lord established the universe so that it would work or function. Each of these had to have their framework laid on a foundation built with things that would work. He, God, used the things that worked to lay down the foundation of each of these, the earth and the universe. God had the wisdom. It was no accident. This is a strong statement by Solomon. He gives God the credit for the intentional act of creation of the earth and the heavens.
In v. 20 Solomon says that it was by the knowledge of God that water and the other basic building blocks of creation do what they do. He, God, is pretty smart. (READ Gen. 7:11-2). Col. 1 :17 puts it this way, “by Him (Christ) all things consist”. And Heb. 1:3 says that He upholds all things by the word of His power, in other words He is the glue that keeps all things as they are. God may let us in on some of the secrets of the universe, i.e. how and why things work, but that does not take away the obvious, that there is SomeOne behind all that we see. When we begin to see the wisdom in all that Solomon is saying it is hard not to stop and begin to have awe for God and begin to worship…
Wisdom has benefits in many directions. Another benefit of the application of wisdom is peace! Although God puts extra blessings on the application of wisdom in our life, wisdom has its own benefits built into it. Those who do not acknowledge the God of all wisdom who apply wisdom still benefit by its application.
Solomon tells us in 3:23 if we walk in the ways of wisdom that safety will be ours. Wisdom is the foundation of safe actions and safe living. It says that our feet will not stumble, which in that day was often a death blow due to frequent battle situations and aggressive terrain that they had to traverse in daily life. Also v. 24 it refers to the dangers that they faced every day. In that day it was generally dangerous most of the time, especially at night. You literally had to sleep with one eye open. We forget just how good we have it. Up until relatively recent in history, very few societies enjoyed the protections that we take for granted. Protections that we enjoy as common rights in our society were typically only given to the more prominent in ancient cultures. Take away one layer of law enforcement, i.e. the local and state police, and we might begin to understand the fears and concerns that they dealt with on a daily basis. Although they obviously did not have guns, when I read this section I get the picture of the old gun slinger lying in bed with one hand on his gun and sleeping with one eye open. V. 25 refer to the “sudden fear”, thus the need to sleep with one eye open. It also makes mention in v. 25 of the desolation that is inevitable for those who live a lifestyle opposite that of the wisdom Solomon is advocating. He says those who apply wisdom that their sleep will be sweet and that the Lord will place His hand of protection over and around them.
V. 28-9 Reminds us to “love thy neighbor”. Treat him/her as you would want to be treated. If they have a need and you have the ability to meet their need, don’t tell them to come back later. Earlier in this chapter we talked about being known for mercy. Mercy would meet our neighbors need quickly if we are able to, with a spirit of JOY! V. 29 reminds us to not be jealous of our neighbor, devising evil against them. This has to do with coveting our neighbors stuff and is at the heart of keeping up with the Jones. In old days land was power. A neighbor would often covet his neighbor’s land or other positions and may devise ways to get them. Instead Solomon is advising us to be thankful that God has blessed our neighbor and to be thankful that God has located them next to us. You could have trouble living next door.
V. 30 reminds us not to go looking for a fight…or an argument. Some people by nature are turf oriented. We are advised to MAKE FRIENDS and not enemies.
V. 31-5, Sometimes we are tempted to envy what people have forgetting how they got it. NONE of the ways of the oppressor should be attractive to us. God’s blessings do not accompany that lifestyle. Even though it looks so good from the outside, the reality is that that type of living comes with a curse. V. 34 says that “the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked”. But, v. 34 goes on to say that God “blesses the habitation of the just” V.32 tells us that God has secrets…that He shares ONLY with His children.
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